Qalandiya – a slow passage of an 18-day old baby between ambulances
Because of the seething sun and the urgency of the armed men, because of the distance from the baby and especially because of the arms of security personnel reaching towards me in an attempt to block the object of the photo, this is what the camera caught. But it is no worse than the goings-on in the public space where back-to-back procedures are followed to the letter.
The worst thing about this is that a baby born 18 days ago, at great risk, is sent from his birth town Qalqilya to Muqassad Hospital in East Jerusalem to save his life.
Only the young mother was issued a permit to join her son, while the father and the rest of the family had to stay behind, praying, worried.
Fathers, being men, are automatically marked as risking state security and are excluded from the sickbed of their child.
If anyone thinks that passing an 18-day old baby from one ambulance to another, a baby whose life is on the line, will be handed over at all possible speed – they are either wrong or do not know the essence of the occupation apparatus. For those in charge of this place who draw their authority from the power of their guns, the life of a Palestinian is worth nothing even if that Palestinian has not yet tasted life and like millions of others answers to the definition of ‘terrorist’, either in the present or potentially. Instead of speeding up the procedure and sparing the infant and his mother waiting time, the powers that be turned to me, blocking, pushing and yelling so loudly that, as I was told, the shouts were heard on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint.
The security personnel whose hectic activity does not even follow the instructions of echelons in charge made both the ambulances and me wait – at the corner of their eye they noticed a Palestinian coming back from his day at work and photographing this surreal sight. At once they left everything they were doing and jumped him demanding that he refrain from what he was doing. The guy who knows the place and the dangers it holds for him as a Palestinian, answered their demands and showed them what they wanted. I didn’t hear what went on, waited some minutes until they let him go, then the ambulances left and so did I.
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
Tamar FleishmanApr-26-2026Qalandiya. Things you see on the way
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